The present invention relates to a means for collection and transport of waste materials and specifically to truck bodies capable of loading, transporting, and unloading separated recyclable waste.
In an era when conservation of raw materials and natural resources has become a major concern, recycling of consumer waste such as paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic is playing an increasingly important role. However, efficient recycling requires means for collecting and transporting waste materials separately, so that scrap aluminum, for example, can be delivered to a recycling facility without being mixed with other substances. The traditional garbage collection truck, of course, collects and transports waste in a collective mass.
Compartmentalized truck bodies for waste collection are known in the prior art, as are various side-mounted means for loading waste from street level into a collection truck. However, these two concepts have not been combined in such a way as to provide for rapid loading of separate waste storage compartments using loading mechanisms that operate quickly and in confined areas. In addition, repair and maintenance of prior art self-loading waste truck bodies is time consuming and costly because of their complexity and difficulty in disassembly.
What is needed, then, is a self-loading truck body which is easily maintained and which is specially adapted for the rapid and efficient collection, loading, transport and unloading of recyclable waste materials.